Competitions have been held for the development of assets such as essays, music, graphic designs, computer software, research, and others, and for the solutions of problems such as technological solutions, ideas, inventions, algorithms, and others, and may in fact be held for the development of any type of intellectual work or work product.
When researchers or developers within an organization encounter a problem that they are unable to solve due to deficits within their organization in solver availability, knowledge, and/or experience, for example, they often engage outside resources in an attempt to solve the problem. They can, for example, hire consultants to solve the problem or engage suppliers to deliver a solution.
Another approach to solving a problem that recently has become available is to conduct an open innovation event, such as contest, competition, challenge and/or collaboration event. In such cases, the request is made available to potential solvers, at least some of whom may have the availability, knowledge and/or experience necessary to solve the problem. A prize or prizes may be awarded to the winning solutions. The use of open innovation events have been enabled by the Internet, which reduces the costs to make interested solvers aware of the event and communicate the information necessary to develop and submit a solution. Non-profit and commercial firms such as X PRIZE FOUNDATION, INNOCENTIVE, CHALLENGE POST, and TOPCODER, INC. have emerged that conduct open innovation events using their systems, infrastructure and processes. Online systems, for example, can handle the logistics of registration, problem distribution, solution submission, prize payment, and so on.
Open innovation events typically are governed by rules that specify details such as the start and end time of the event, the format for solution submissions, and the prizes to be awarded. Open innovation event rules also typically specify rules such as the amount or degree of collaboration permitted, the information that can be shared among the participants, and the manner in which prizes will be shared if collaboration is permitted. Typically, there is one rule regime that applies to all participants in an open innovation event, and designing an open innovation event typically involves choosing a single rule regime that the administrator believes will be most effective in motivating the participants to enter the event and eventually that will result in a solution to a particular problem.